WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.060 I'm going to invite you, if you can, very briefly, 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:04.459 I'm going to read one verse of Scripture in the 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:08.640 book of Revelations, Revelation chapter 22 and 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:12.519 verse 20, all the way to the end of the Bible 00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:20.420 today. Very last book, last chapter, and almost 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:27.480 the last verse. And it reads this way. He who 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:33.939 testifies to these things says, surely I am coming 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:43.579 quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Another 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:47.820 translation says, he who testifies to these things 00:00:47.820 --> 00:00:54.799 says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord 00:00:54.799 --> 00:01:00.000 Jesus. As we go now into our third installment 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.200 of our countdown to eternity, we're just going 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.739 to pray today and ask God to speak to us. My 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:10.519 message is very, very direct. Amen. Very direct. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:13.640 Straightforward, but this is what God has placed 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:15.760 in my heart, and I'm going to preach today with 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:19.079 his help. Ready or not, he's coming. Ready or 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:21.239 not, he's coming. Father, let's pray. Father, 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:23.659 we come before you today. We thank you, Lord, 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.060 for... your visitation, and not only that, your 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:30.700 habitation, Lord, that you inhabit the praises 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:33.959 of your people today. We thank you, God, that 00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:36.819 you gave us the strength, Lord, one more week, 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:39.780 one more day, to enter your gates with thanksgiving 00:01:39.780 --> 00:01:42.599 and to your courts with praise, Lord. And now, 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:46.480 God, I pray that you would touch and anoint the 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:49.939 hearing, the ears, the hearts of every person 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:53.040 sitting in this place or watching online today, 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:57.640 God. Because this is an important moment for 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:00.299 somebody, God. This is a moment of eternity. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:03.019 This is a moment of destiny, God. And I pray 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:06.079 that it not just be my words, but that it be 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.960 your word, God, that penetrates the hearts of 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:13.400 people and brings change, conviction, and encouragement. 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:16.500 We ask all of these things, God, in the name 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:21.219 of Jesus, we pray. Somebody say amen. Why don't 00:02:21.219 --> 00:02:26.860 you give God one more hand praise? Amen. You 00:02:26.860 --> 00:02:31.000 may be seated in God's presence. Our opening 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:41.800 verse today records the last prayer in the Bible. 00:02:43.099 --> 00:02:50.280 It's the last prayer. It's not long. It's not 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:57.930 poetic. But it's powerful. And that last prayer 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:06.990 is even so come Lord Jesus. Come Lord Jesus. 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:11.990 Someone say come. Let's say that again. Come 00:03:11.990 --> 00:03:18.310 Lord Jesus. Amen. I find it interesting that 00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:23.750 the Bible does not end with a word or a prayer 00:03:23.750 --> 00:03:28.039 for blessings. Doesn't come with a prayer for 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:33.120 gifts. Doesn't come with a prayer for more time. 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:36.759 These are all of the sorts of things that you 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:42.280 think that the Bible might offer at the very 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:44.360 end. Think about all of the promises. Think about 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.939 all of the words, the principles, the laws, the 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:51.599 instructions, the counsel, the full counsel of 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:55.000 God that is contained from... cover to cover 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.240 in this blessed book that we call the Bible, 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:00.620 the Holy Scriptures. Think about everything that 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:02.719 is written in here. Think about all the prayers 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:05.020 that have been prayed that were recorded in this 00:04:05.020 --> 00:04:09.219 Bible, the great and marvelous things that God 00:04:09.219 --> 00:04:12.099 has done and promised to do that are all contained 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:14.379 in the Word of God. Think about all of that. 00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:16.939 That's a lot. Amen? There's many, many promises, 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.600 many, many prayers that are in this book. Amen. 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:22.439 Think about all those things and all the wonderful 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:27.279 things that man could ask for at the very end. 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:31.339 Think of the last prayer in the Bible as that 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:35.040 departing or closing word, the final chapter 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:38.360 as the Bible comes to an end. I mean, what would 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:41.959 be the one thing that we would pray, right? If 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:44.680 God said, hey, this is the last prayer I'm going 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:47.670 to record. for you think about what you might 00:04:47.670 --> 00:04:50.689 ask for or man just if i could just squeeze this 00:04:50.689 --> 00:04:54.050 last petition in if i can get one more prayer 00:04:54.050 --> 00:04:57.639 in there this is what i would ask for And I think 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:00.339 that if we're honest today, especially if it's 00:05:00.339 --> 00:05:03.540 in a moment of desperate need, we might pray 00:05:03.540 --> 00:05:06.879 for that need that we have in our life or possibly 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:10.220 healing in our body or for God to do something 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:13.600 on our behalf. But I want you to, with me today, 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.579 consider the fact that at the very end of the 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:20.579 Bible, the last prayer that is prayed is a prayer 00:05:20.579 --> 00:05:26.569 that says, Lord, come for us. The last prayer 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:33.209 in the Bible is Lord, come. Even so, come, Lord 00:05:33.209 --> 00:05:38.589 Jesus. This prayer cannot be prayed unless the 00:05:38.589 --> 00:05:42.709 one praying it has a clear revelation or understanding 00:05:42.709 --> 00:05:48.029 about eternity and God's working in humanity, 00:05:48.110 --> 00:05:51.350 understanding that it's all going to come to 00:05:51.350 --> 00:05:55.160 a hedge at some point. And as I was reading this 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.399 last very short verse in the Bible, I began to 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:00.560 think about my own prayer life, began to think 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:03.319 about the kinds of things that I pray or that 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:06.680 I have heard people pray, and I wondered how 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:10.199 often Christians pray that prayer. Now, I don't 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:13.279 mean verbatim, but I just mean, you know, out 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:15.279 of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:19.060 I wonder if our conversation, if the desires 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:22.930 of our heart, our prayers even, would... in some 00:06:22.930 --> 00:06:26.790 way resembled this prayer that was prayed at 00:06:26.790 --> 00:06:29.290 the end of the Bible. I wonder if that prayer, 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:34.790 even so come Lord Jesus, gets harder to pray 00:06:34.790 --> 00:06:38.029 depending on where you're at in your life. I 00:06:38.029 --> 00:06:40.750 wonder if that prayer gets harder to pray or 00:06:40.750 --> 00:06:45.149 is a hard prayer to pray when you're still young, 00:06:45.370 --> 00:06:50.600 still in the prime of your life. Maybe that prayer 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:52.860 is easier to pray after you've lived a good, 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:56.819 long, and full life. It's like, well, come, Lord 00:06:56.819 --> 00:07:00.579 Jesus. I'm ready to go home. I've lived my life. 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:05.920 That's, I think, an easier prayer to pray when 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:07.980 you're at the end. But how about when you're 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:12.120 in the prime, when everything in your life or 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:14.759 around you suggests to you that there is more 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:17.939 life to be lived, more experiences to be had? 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:22.459 I wonder if that prayer gets harder to pray when 00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:26.480 you still have things to do, places to go, things 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:30.100 to accomplish. You see, I think, and this is 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:33.120 just what I have been impressed upon in my spirit 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.540 today, that many in the church today are not 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:38.839 praying. This is not an indictment. This is just 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:42.519 simply an observation. Are not praying or not 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:47.370 saying, come, Jesus, come. But instead, they're 00:07:47.370 --> 00:07:50.029 saying either with their lips or their lifestyle, 00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:58.129 wait, Jesus, wait. Wait until I get myself together. 00:07:59.829 --> 00:08:05.269 Wait until I make a little more money. Wait until 00:08:05.269 --> 00:08:08.310 I get married. Whoa, some of you prayed that 00:08:08.310 --> 00:08:11.069 prayer many years ago. Praise God. Not until 00:08:11.069 --> 00:08:14.600 I get married. Okay, hallelujah. Wait, hallelujah, 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:18.319 until I have a family. Let me just experience 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:22.720 that for myself. Wait until I travel the world. 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:27.860 Wait until I can taste the finer things that 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:34.139 life has to offer. Or wait until I'm really ready. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:40.960 Until I have got all of the living out of my 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:44.600 system. And I have experimented with the world 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:49.000 a little bit. Just wait, God. Not come, Jesus, 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:54.440 come. But wait, Jesus, wait. But let me tell 00:08:54.440 --> 00:08:57.799 you today, church and friend, that Jesus didn't 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:00.639 say, I'm coming when you're done with your plans. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:07.559 Somebody help me today. Somebody say amen. He 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:10.259 didn't say, I'm coming after you get your act 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:14.830 together. He didn't say, I'm coming when you're 00:09:14.830 --> 00:09:21.350 ready. He said, I come quickly. Someone say, 00:09:21.429 --> 00:09:28.049 ready or not. Ready or not, I'm coming. And if 00:09:28.049 --> 00:09:30.470 Jesus said it, friend, then we must believe it. 00:09:31.690 --> 00:09:35.929 I said, we must believe it. We must live, how? 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:39.789 As if, this is what it means to believe that 00:09:39.789 --> 00:09:45.029 Jesus could come. It's to live as if he's coming 00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:51.929 today. Hallelujah. To live as if he's coming 00:09:51.929 --> 00:09:57.950 now. We must live as if though this can happen 00:09:57.950 --> 00:10:01.830 today and this starts, this really begins by 00:10:01.830 --> 00:10:06.029 understanding what his coming really means. And 00:10:06.029 --> 00:10:08.429 so when we talk about the coming of the Lord 00:10:08.429 --> 00:10:11.789 or the rapture of the church, which is what we're 00:10:11.789 --> 00:10:14.909 going to focus on today, the return of Christ 00:10:14.909 --> 00:10:19.029 to catch away the saints and the church of the 00:10:19.029 --> 00:10:21.450 Lord. When we talk about these things, there 00:10:21.450 --> 00:10:25.269 can be a lot of misconceptions, ideas that have 00:10:25.269 --> 00:10:29.230 been placed upon us, things that we have picked 00:10:29.230 --> 00:10:32.610 up, whether in church or even outside of the 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:38.750 church. even through literature, through Hollywood 00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:41.570 and different things that can inform. But we 00:10:41.570 --> 00:10:43.909 need to get back to the Bible and look at what 00:10:43.909 --> 00:10:46.610 God says about his coming. And so today I want 00:10:46.610 --> 00:10:49.490 us just for a few moments to look at three aspects 00:10:49.490 --> 00:10:53.399 of Christ's return. Three aspects of his return. 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:56.460 If God allows me, another week or so in this 00:10:56.460 --> 00:10:59.960 series, we'll look a little more about eschatological 00:10:59.960 --> 00:11:03.039 things or future things that are to come, but 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:07.019 we need to look at his return, and we need to 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:11.360 start with the timing of his coming. Someone 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:16.580 say the timing. The timing of his coming. This 00:11:16.580 --> 00:11:19.139 is the first aspect of his return that we need 00:11:19.139 --> 00:11:24.049 to look at. Back in the 90s, or excuse me, the 00:11:24.049 --> 00:11:28.769 80s, a popular book came out called, it was entitled, 00:11:29.090 --> 00:11:37.929 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. This 00:11:37.929 --> 00:11:40.250 is a book that actually came out. And I want 00:11:40.250 --> 00:11:44.350 you to know that over 3 million copies were printed 00:11:44.350 --> 00:11:49.120 and sold and distributed across America. It was 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:50.980 a popular book. You know what people did upon 00:11:50.980 --> 00:11:55.580 reading this book? They sold their homes. Sold 00:11:55.580 --> 00:12:00.840 their home. Quit their jobs. Many people maxed 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:04.299 out their credit cards thinking that they were 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:09.039 going to be here next month. And then you know 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:14.029 what happened? September came. And it went. And 00:12:14.029 --> 00:12:19.009 the author, he was actually a NASA engineer turned 00:12:19.009 --> 00:12:22.850 prophecy teacher, I guess. He ended up revising 00:12:22.850 --> 00:12:24.570 it. He produced another book and said, wait, 00:12:24.590 --> 00:12:29.690 wait, not September, October. He's coming. Well, 00:12:29.929 --> 00:12:33.590 here we are 36 years later. We're still here. 00:12:34.730 --> 00:12:39.710 We're still here. I think the author, whatever 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:41.529 his intentions were, maybe it was just to sell 00:12:41.529 --> 00:12:44.460 books. He must have forgot to read the words 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:48.639 of Christ himself. Because Jesus said, but of 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:55.659 that day and hour, no one knows. Not even the 00:12:55.659 --> 00:13:02.960 angels in heaven, but my Father only. Nobody 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:07.279 knows the exact time that Jesus is coming back. 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:12.740 And if they tell you that they do, They're not 00:13:12.740 --> 00:13:16.919 being truthful. Not even the angels in heaven 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:19.399 know the exact day. And so every once in a while, 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:21.419 you'll see a billboard on the side of the road, 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.720 Judgment Day. It's going to happen on this day, 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.320 or somebody will make headlines, right, in the 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:32.440 news, because they have predicted a day. Let 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:34.100 me tell you, that's a dangerous thing to do, 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:36.679 and we should not be, as the people of God, in 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:39.419 the business of trying to predict when exactly 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:43.120 Jesus is going to come. It's clearly dangerous 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.659 to predict when he's coming. But let me tell 00:13:45.659 --> 00:13:48.419 you today, church, it is equally dangerous to 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:54.700 go to the other extreme and assume, well, pastor, 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:57.200 since we don't know when he's going to come, 00:13:57.379 --> 00:14:01.240 then we can just ignore the signs of the times. 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:06.100 Let me tell you that is equally dangerous. Equally 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:09.360 dangerous. As dangerous as it is to predict when 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:12.519 he's coming, it is to live. with our blinders 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:15.799 on, ignoring and not paying attention to what 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:19.200 is happening around us in our world as prophecy 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.519 is being unfolded each and every day. We may 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:24.820 not know the exact day or time, which we don't, 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:28.399 but Jesus warned about the season of his coming. 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:32.519 And Jesus said this in Matthew 24. And if this 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:35.659 topic interests you, you ought to devote much 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:38.559 time in reading and studying the book of Matthew 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.080 chapter 24 and 25. But he writes, or he says 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:45.899 this in verse 32. Now learn this parable from 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:49.460 the fig tree. When its branch has already become 00:14:49.460 --> 00:14:54.179 tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer 00:14:54.179 --> 00:15:00.299 is near. So you also, when you see all these 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:04.059 things, someone say all these things, know that 00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:09.159 it is near at the door. So here in this chapter, 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:13.919 Jesus is predicting what is going to come during 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.519 the end times. And he talks, and I'm going to 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:18.279 share a little bit about what those things are. 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:21.120 But he says, when you begin to see these things, 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:23.559 you may not know the exact day or time, but you're 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:26.159 going to know that the hour is near. You're going 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:28.779 to know that my coming is near. When you see 00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:32.080 these things, when you see like a branch, a fig 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:35.059 tree producing its leaves, you know that summer 00:15:35.059 --> 00:15:38.379 is near and that the end is at the door. So how 00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:41.820 do we know that branch is tender? What are the 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:46.519 signs of the time? I wish I had time to investigate, 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:50.019 break down what each of these signs are. But 00:15:50.019 --> 00:15:54.799 just for review. These are some of the signs 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:58.860 which Jesus... refers or hints to at the end 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:01.919 of the end of the last days. Talks about wars 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:05.779 and rumors of wars. You can't go a day or two 00:16:05.779 --> 00:16:08.980 without hearing of another war or another rumor 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:12.559 of war or another nation that is arming up its 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:17.360 nuclear warheads, investing in more capabilities 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:21.440 to attack and to create war. Now, through centuries, 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:24.580 there have been wars and rumors of wars all the 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:26.759 way from... you know, from the time of Christ 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:29.279 to this point, especially in the last century 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:32.820 or two with World War I and World War II and 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:36.259 all types of wars that have sprung out all over 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:38.860 the earth. But we need to understand that these 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:42.259 are signs. And even today, there are signs of 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:45.100 wars, the rumors of war. Nation rising against 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:49.610 nation. This is not just referring to one country 00:16:49.610 --> 00:16:52.889 fighting with another country. This nation is 00:16:52.889 --> 00:16:56.549 actually speaking of nationality or ethnicities. 00:16:56.610 --> 00:17:00.129 Ethnic group rising against ethnic group and 00:17:00.129 --> 00:17:04.869 fighting or hating each other. Famine and pestilence, 00:17:04.970 --> 00:17:08.029 which we have seen through different pandemics 00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:11.950 and epidemics that have affected us even not 00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:16.069 too many years ago with the coronavirus. And 00:17:16.069 --> 00:17:19.089 just because it's not happening on a global scale 00:17:19.089 --> 00:17:21.230 doesn't mean that there's not pestilence and 00:17:21.230 --> 00:17:23.809 doesn't mean that people and entire villages 00:17:23.809 --> 00:17:27.170 and people are not dying because of famine even, 00:17:27.289 --> 00:17:31.009 the lack of food. Earthquakes in various places. 00:17:31.089 --> 00:17:34.390 The Richter scales are breaking records for earthquakes 00:17:34.390 --> 00:17:37.309 that are taking place in diverse places that 00:17:37.309 --> 00:17:40.269 are not known to typically be earthquake zone. 00:17:40.470 --> 00:17:42.049 You know, here in the Bay Area, whenever there's 00:17:42.049 --> 00:17:44.170 a little rattling, I mean, we hardly even, it 00:17:44.170 --> 00:17:45.759 hardly makes this. news you know what i'm saying 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:48.099 it's like a little rattle it's like it hardly 00:17:48.099 --> 00:17:51.339 makes the news why because we we are in a earthquake 00:17:51.339 --> 00:17:53.500 zone right there's always going to be earthquakes 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:55.799 now some are bigger than others but in other 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:58.519 places where there isn't a big fault line they're 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:01.589 not used to having East earthquakes are springing 00:18:01.589 --> 00:18:05.089 up in these places. Lawlessness is increasing. 00:18:05.529 --> 00:18:09.470 Obviously, we're seeing a rejection of laws that 00:18:09.470 --> 00:18:12.710 rule and govern, and the love of many is growing 00:18:12.710 --> 00:18:15.569 cold, and all of these things are happening. 00:18:15.750 --> 00:18:18.630 False prophets, oh my goodness, and apostasy 00:18:18.630 --> 00:18:21.910 has run amok, especially now with the proliferation 00:18:21.910 --> 00:18:24.630 of ideas through social media, the internet, 00:18:24.769 --> 00:18:27.930 Google, I mean, you name it, YouTube. I mean, 00:18:27.950 --> 00:18:30.079 anybody can start a church. on YouTube now and 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:32.680 gain followers and just spew whatever it is that 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:34.960 they want to say, whatever doctrine they have 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:38.339 come up with. And so apostasy, which is false 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:41.220 doctrine and false teaching, is running rampant 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:43.660 in the world today. And I thank God, hallelujah, 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:46.319 that we've got good doctrine, solid doctrine. 00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:50.130 Amen. Hallelujah. a sign of the time is these 00:18:50.130 --> 00:18:52.509 things are going to happen and there's also signs 00:18:52.509 --> 00:18:56.789 in in the terrestrial realm and in the moon the 00:18:56.789 --> 00:19:00.990 stars and on the earth and we see that men's 00:19:00.990 --> 00:19:03.650 hearts jesus said in the in luke that men's hearts 00:19:03.650 --> 00:19:06.549 would begin to fail them because of fear and 00:19:06.549 --> 00:19:09.890 because of fear they're going to lose heart and 00:19:09.890 --> 00:19:13.670 lose hope and become depressed and suicide and 00:19:13.670 --> 00:19:16.390 so all of these things are happening around us 00:19:16.390 --> 00:19:18.710 and and just because You're not tuned in to that 00:19:18.710 --> 00:19:22.009 news channel. But I can assure you they are happening 00:19:22.009 --> 00:19:26.029 on record levels. But also in a company with 00:19:26.029 --> 00:19:28.210 that, not only are these bad things happening, 00:19:28.349 --> 00:19:31.869 but also the gospel is being preached all around 00:19:31.869 --> 00:19:34.150 the world. And that is another sign of his coming. 00:19:34.230 --> 00:19:36.650 When you start seeing the gospel, when you start 00:19:36.650 --> 00:19:39.289 seeing revival, when you start seeing the message 00:19:39.289 --> 00:19:42.089 of Jesus Christ being preached in diverse places 00:19:42.089 --> 00:19:44.569 and communities and different dialects and different 00:19:44.569 --> 00:19:47.799 people and different creeds. to remote areas 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:49.599 that you never thought the gospel would ever 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.460 go, that is also a sign, and that's a good sign, 00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:56.200 hallelujah, that Jesus is getting ready to take 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:58.619 his church out of here. Somebody clap your hands 00:19:58.619 --> 00:20:00.940 and let's give God some praise today. Hallelujah. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:06.420 Now, Jesus said, back to the next slide, please. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.940 Jesus said, now, when these things begin to happen, 00:20:09.019 --> 00:20:12.490 look up. He said, look up and lift up your head. 00:20:12.609 --> 00:20:16.549 Why? Because your redemption draws near. We as 00:20:16.549 --> 00:20:19.150 a people of God will see these things unfolding 00:20:19.150 --> 00:20:21.970 in our world today, whether on the 24 -hour news 00:20:21.970 --> 00:20:24.470 cycle or through the rumor of a friend or it 00:20:24.470 --> 00:20:26.670 might even hit or touch our own family members 00:20:26.670 --> 00:20:29.950 or households. But we as a people of God ought 00:20:29.950 --> 00:20:32.670 not to become depressed or discouraged or lose 00:20:32.670 --> 00:20:35.170 our faith or lose out with God. We ought to be 00:20:35.170 --> 00:20:38.049 encouraged. We ought to comfort one another with 00:20:38.049 --> 00:20:40.259 these words and say, hey. Everything is going 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:43.720 to be all right because Jesus is coming back 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:49.240 for his church. We don't say these things to 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:51.920 depress you and to, man, man, man, this world 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:55.079 is really in a bad. It is to encourage one another. 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.140 Say, hey, get your eyes off of this world. Get 00:20:58.140 --> 00:21:00.259 your eyes off of everything. Don't get caught 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:02.700 up, you know, start walking around with tinfoil 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:04.740 on your head and say, oh, there's conspiracies. 00:21:04.819 --> 00:21:07.039 Yeah, there might be those things out there, 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.920 but fix your eyes on. Jesus and say, hey, this 00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:15.880 world is not my home. I'm a pilgrim passing through. 00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:20.599 I'm going to lift up your head, lift up your 00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:24.460 eyes, and look to the hills. Your redemption 00:21:24.460 --> 00:21:28.740 draws nigh. This ought to be the disposition 00:21:28.740 --> 00:21:31.059 of the church. We don't have a message of doom 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:34.359 and gloom. We got a message of hope that Jesus 00:21:34.359 --> 00:21:39.099 is coming back for his church. We're living in 00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:42.400 the last days, church. And just because he hasn't 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.160 come yet, let me tell you what my other title 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:46.480 was going to be. How many of you want to know 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.660 what the runner -up title was going to be? My 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:50.200 other title was going to be, and if you like 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:53.900 it, you can have it. Amen? Jesus is still coming 00:21:53.900 --> 00:21:58.640 soon. Focus on the word still. Because you hear 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:00.500 people say, well, he hasn't come. I've been hearing 00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:05.579 Jesus is coming. He's still coming soon. And 00:22:05.579 --> 00:22:06.980 I tell you, when he gets there, he's going to 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:11.500 be right on time. It's been the last day since 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:14.240 I was a child. And it's still the last days. 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:16.440 And the fact that he hasn't come yet doesn't 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.259 mean he's not coming. Come on. Someone say hallelujah. 00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:23.079 Then we have another aspect that we need to understand, 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:27.680 which is not only the timing, but the test. Someone 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:30.660 say the test. You got to understand something 00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:32.839 about the catching away of the church or this 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:36.099 coming of the Lord. It's going to be a spiritual 00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:39.099 test. Jesus said in Luke 18, 8, when the Son 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:42.519 of Man comes, speaking of his coming, his second 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:47.599 return, he will, or will he really find faith 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:52.380 on the earth? He asked this question, when I 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:56.200 come back, what am I going to find? Oh, man. 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:58.619 How many of you remember when your parents would 00:22:58.619 --> 00:23:02.579 go away for a little bit? And maybe some of you 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:06.109 were left in charge. Of the house? I feel conviction 00:23:06.109 --> 00:23:09.089 coming in right now. You're like, Pastor, you're 00:23:09.089 --> 00:23:10.450 not going to tell them what we did, do we? No. 00:23:11.069 --> 00:23:14.589 Your secret is safe. Huh? The party you threw? 00:23:14.670 --> 00:23:16.789 No, I'm just kidding. Hallelujah. Whatever it 00:23:16.789 --> 00:23:19.910 was you did, amen. And your parents said, I'm 00:23:19.910 --> 00:23:22.710 coming back. I'm coming home. Right? Maybe they 00:23:22.710 --> 00:23:27.089 got delayed or whatever. And it might have been 00:23:27.089 --> 00:23:30.450 that what if they come home a little sooner than 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.759 what you thought? It's either car coming down 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:35.740 the street, uh -oh, get out of the house, or 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:37.960 clean. We said we were going to do the dishes 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:39.539 and we didn't do them. Mom said when we came 00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:45.160 back, this house better be clean. And it's a 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:48.140 mess, throwing things under the couches. We got 00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:53.960 to make it look clean. But if they come unannounced 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:56.119 and they just show up, guess what? You don't 00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:01.160 have time to make it look clean. It's a test 00:24:01.160 --> 00:24:04.779 to see if what, and Jesus ain't, I'm coming back. 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:07.720 And I left you there like in charge of the house 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:10.619 while I'm gone. And when I come back, what am 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:14.539 I going to find? How have you been living? What 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.519 has your life been like? What's been your testimony? 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:18.960 How's been your attitude? How's been your prayer 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.339 life? How's been your obedience to me? What am 00:24:21.339 --> 00:24:23.519 I going to find? And there are many examples 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:25.880 which I don't have time to get through, but there 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:29.200 is one very powerful, very poignant parable that 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.220 Jesus talks about in Matthew 25 with the parable 00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:35.420 of the 10 virgins who were all waiting for the 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:39.549 bridegroom to come. They all had lamps. They 00:24:39.549 --> 00:24:41.970 were all waiting equally. Every one of them were 00:24:41.970 --> 00:24:43.710 waiting. All these 10 virgins were waiting. They 00:24:43.710 --> 00:24:46.250 had these lamps. As many of you may be familiar 00:24:46.250 --> 00:24:51.150 with that story, but only five were ready when 00:24:51.150 --> 00:24:56.869 he came. Half. And the other half were not ready. 00:24:57.509 --> 00:25:00.619 And so at the very last minute, They went and 00:25:00.619 --> 00:25:02.940 they tried to get their oil that they did not 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:05.500 have, that they were supposed to have ready in 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:08.720 their lamps. They went to try to go to the store, 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:11.660 to the neighborhood Walmart, whatever it was, 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:13.700 to try to buy and sell so they can get some oil. 00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:17.000 It was too late by then. And there's a lot of 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:18.819 people that they're always getting ready to get 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:22.359 ready. But the question is, are you ready? Someone 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:25.480 say, are you ready? Because when he comes, there's 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:27.380 not going to be no time to get ready, my friend. 00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:29.579 There's not going to be no time to say, oh, if 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:31.579 I could just get to an altar now. If I could 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:33.920 just repent now. If I could just listen and be 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:36.259 obedient now. If I could just get my heart right 00:25:36.259 --> 00:25:38.839 now. Because when he comes, it's going to happen 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:41.640 in a snap of a finger, even faster than that. 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:44.480 And there won't be any time to do any of those 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:46.700 things. And the master's going to want to know, 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:51.019 is there any oil in your lamp? Have you been 00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:54.269 praying? Have you been living right? Come on 00:25:54.269 --> 00:26:01.630 now. Is there oil there? And God forbid, there's 00:26:01.630 --> 00:26:06.230 no oil. And there's another example. The same 00:26:06.230 --> 00:26:10.109 chapter, Jesus tells of a master who entrusted 00:26:10.109 --> 00:26:12.309 his servants with talents. And when he returned, 00:26:12.529 --> 00:26:14.210 he began to inspect their works. Okay, what did 00:26:14.210 --> 00:26:16.349 you do with the talents I gave you? Okay, just 00:26:16.349 --> 00:26:18.289 paraphrasing this very quickly. What did you 00:26:18.289 --> 00:26:20.130 do with the talents I gave you? Two of them were 00:26:20.130 --> 00:26:22.930 faithful, and they were fruitful with the talents 00:26:22.930 --> 00:26:25.029 that God gave them. One of them decided, you 00:26:25.029 --> 00:26:26.410 know, I'm going to take this one talent and bury 00:26:26.410 --> 00:26:30.170 it. You know, because he was so fearful of it. 00:26:30.250 --> 00:26:32.930 He was living from a place of fear, so he went 00:26:32.930 --> 00:26:35.430 and he buried it. And what was the punishment 00:26:35.430 --> 00:26:39.089 for him? Well, Jesus said that he was cast into 00:26:39.089 --> 00:26:42.990 darkness. When the master came back, he looked 00:26:42.990 --> 00:26:45.809 around and he said, what did you do with what 00:26:45.809 --> 00:26:49.430 I gave you? What did you do with what I gave 00:26:49.430 --> 00:26:51.509 you? What did you do with the gift I gave you? 00:26:51.549 --> 00:26:52.829 What did you do with the blessing I gave you? 00:26:52.890 --> 00:26:54.990 What did you do with the talent I gave you? You 00:26:54.990 --> 00:26:56.890 see, here's something, before I move on to the 00:26:56.890 --> 00:26:58.730 next point, which I'll get to in a moment, this 00:26:58.730 --> 00:27:00.750 is something we need to understand, and I pray, 00:27:00.890 --> 00:27:03.609 I really do, that it puts the fear of God in 00:27:03.609 --> 00:27:08.329 the church. We tend to think that only backsliders 00:27:08.329 --> 00:27:10.049 and sinners are going to miss the rapture. And 00:27:10.049 --> 00:27:11.890 I'm here to tell you there's going to be churchgoers 00:27:11.890 --> 00:27:19.549 that miss his coming. Not just the lost, but 00:27:19.549 --> 00:27:22.769 those who, you know, take heed, the Bible says, 00:27:22.970 --> 00:27:25.269 to those who think they stand lest they fall. 00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:28.869 Those who think, ah, I've got it all covered. 00:27:29.230 --> 00:27:31.730 I'm good. I don't need to grow anymore. I don't 00:27:31.730 --> 00:27:33.769 need to repent anymore. I don't need to improve 00:27:33.769 --> 00:27:36.289 anymore. I'm good just as I am, and I'm just 00:27:36.289 --> 00:27:39.049 going to sit here and wait for him to come. That's 00:27:39.049 --> 00:27:41.930 not how it works. We've got to occupy. We've 00:27:41.930 --> 00:27:44.710 got to be about his business. We can't just be 00:27:44.710 --> 00:27:47.349 in cruise control. You know what I'm saying? 00:27:47.609 --> 00:27:49.750 There are more accidents that happen out there 00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:52.450 in the driving world because people are on cruise 00:27:52.450 --> 00:27:55.150 control. They're not paying attention to the 00:27:55.150 --> 00:27:58.009 signs. They're not on guard. They're not sober. 00:27:58.599 --> 00:28:01.359 and they're not vigilant and sober -minded. They're 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:03.900 not looking up and lifting their eyes to the 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:06.200 hills for his return, and they're just saying, 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:08.059 oh, he's going to, I don't know when he's going 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:10.920 to come, but he hasn't come yet. No, Jesus wants 00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:15.059 to know, how will I find you when I come? Because 00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:18.460 after that, there are no more make -up tests. 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:25.660 Somebody say amen today. Jesus will ask, what 00:28:25.660 --> 00:28:27.819 did you do while I was gone? Were you murmuring 00:28:27.819 --> 00:28:30.319 and backbiting the whole time? Playing games, 00:28:30.460 --> 00:28:32.900 acting childish, holding grudges, being proud, 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:37.640 petty? Were you loving? Were you kind? Were you 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:41.220 generous? Were you winning souls? Were you forgiving? 00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:44.480 Were you submissive? You know, what is he, what 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:50.480 kind of faith is he going to find? And this, 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:52.480 I have to put the fear of God in each and every 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:54.680 one of us because all of us here today, listen, 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:56.920 if you feel a little pinch today in the Holy 00:28:56.920 --> 00:28:59.160 Ghost, that's all right. That's the love of God. 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:03.579 That's the love of God. You feel a pinch. I feel 00:29:03.579 --> 00:29:05.259 for those who don't feel that pinch anymore. 00:29:07.210 --> 00:29:09.589 I'm more concerned when you don't feel the pinch. 00:29:09.710 --> 00:29:11.950 But when you start to feel the pinch, ooh, that's 00:29:11.950 --> 00:29:15.029 the Holy Ghost right there. Oh, God, let us not 00:29:15.029 --> 00:29:17.289 be like that one servant that Jesus talked about 00:29:17.289 --> 00:29:20.410 in Matthew 24 who just kind of did whatever he 00:29:20.410 --> 00:29:24.970 wanted because the master was away, but he did 00:29:24.970 --> 00:29:27.750 what he wanted. And his rationale, the way this 00:29:27.750 --> 00:29:30.029 one servant kind of talked his way out of it 00:29:30.029 --> 00:29:33.309 is he said, well, my master is delaying in his 00:29:33.309 --> 00:29:37.230 coming. And so because the master hadn't come 00:29:37.230 --> 00:29:39.950 yet, he was just, you know, he felt like he could 00:29:39.950 --> 00:29:43.190 just mess around and just act up and live any 00:29:43.190 --> 00:29:46.430 kind of way. But then the master came and he 00:29:46.430 --> 00:29:49.450 was found unready because the master came at 00:29:49.450 --> 00:29:52.789 a time that he was not expecting. He came at 00:29:52.789 --> 00:29:55.910 an hour he was not looking for. And so this is 00:29:55.910 --> 00:29:58.390 the warning to the church today. Hear me today, 00:29:58.470 --> 00:30:00.910 church, brother and sister in the Lord. This 00:30:00.910 --> 00:30:03.509 is the word of God to you. Jesus is going to 00:30:03.509 --> 00:30:05.910 come when you're not. expecting him to come. 00:30:06.170 --> 00:30:08.410 Oh, wouldn't it be nice if he all came when we 00:30:08.410 --> 00:30:10.650 were in church, you know, hands lifted, crying, 00:30:10.829 --> 00:30:12.750 speaking in tongues. Oh, it would be great. But 00:30:12.750 --> 00:30:15.069 I've got a feeling like he's going to come on 00:30:15.069 --> 00:30:17.569 a Monday morning when your co -worker cussed 00:30:17.569 --> 00:30:20.029 you out or somebody got on you. I've got a feeling 00:30:20.029 --> 00:30:23.049 he's going to come when you're driving somewhere. 00:30:23.509 --> 00:30:26.230 You least expect him. And you say, oh, surely 00:30:26.230 --> 00:30:28.809 God's not going to come right now. This is why 00:30:28.809 --> 00:30:31.690 we've got to get up every day and say this is 00:30:31.690 --> 00:30:34.779 the day that the Lord has to come. And I will 00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:37.660 rejoice and be glad in it. I'm not going to let 00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:42.079 the devil rob me of my eternal home. It's a pop 00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:46.420 quiz. Someone say, it's a pop quiz. The master 00:30:46.420 --> 00:30:48.619 showed up to that one servant in Matthew 24, 00:30:48.819 --> 00:30:51.180 and he wasn't looking for him. And he just, remember 00:30:51.180 --> 00:30:53.539 those pop quizzes you got in high school when 00:30:53.539 --> 00:30:56.140 the teacher was, we have a pop quiz today, right? 00:30:56.180 --> 00:30:58.079 Everyone starts looking around like, oh, man. 00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:02.779 And then you find out who's been studying. And 00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:06.519 you find out who's been prepared. And can I tell 00:31:06.519 --> 00:31:09.200 you something? And with all due respect, like 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:13.220 anybody could, anybody could ace or do well on 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:14.799 a test if you know when the test is going to 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:18.420 happen and you have ample time to prepare. Right? 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:20.839 And you get reminder after reminder after reminder. 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:22.680 It's coming tomorrow. Remember tomorrow, 5 o 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:25.480 'clock, it's coming. You know what most people 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:35.190 do? We would cram that 455. Hallelujah. Brother, 00:31:35.289 --> 00:31:39.009 come on up here in a minute. But Jesus is not 00:31:39.009 --> 00:31:42.950 coming like that. He's not coming. The rapture 00:31:42.950 --> 00:31:48.730 will be a pop quiz. And you're either ready, 00:31:48.809 --> 00:31:51.930 someone say you're ready or not. Come on, say 00:31:51.930 --> 00:31:56.670 it louder. Say ready or not. Ready or not. He's 00:31:56.670 --> 00:32:01.619 coming. And this is the kind of fear when I talk 00:32:01.619 --> 00:32:04.140 about fear. Hear me today. I'm not talking about 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:09.000 this. Fear of the boogeyman, I'm not talking 00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:11.680 about a fear of of, you know, you're just like, 00:32:11.700 --> 00:32:14.759 oh, I'm afraid of things. I'm talking about irreverence, 00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:18.180 a godly fear that we ought to live with. The 00:32:18.180 --> 00:32:19.839 Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:23.750 of wisdom. The fear of the Lord. The fear of 00:32:23.750 --> 00:32:25.710 the Lord. And this needs to be restored in the 00:32:25.710 --> 00:32:27.069 church today because there are many that have 00:32:27.069 --> 00:32:29.109 become lackadaisical, lukewarm in their faith 00:32:29.109 --> 00:32:30.950 because Christ hasn't come yet. So, you know, 00:32:30.990 --> 00:32:32.910 I've got time to mess around. I've got time. 00:32:33.029 --> 00:32:35.490 I'll repent next Sunday. I've got time. I'll 00:32:35.490 --> 00:32:38.349 do things how I want. But I'm here to tell you 00:32:38.349 --> 00:32:46.809 that if Jesus came today, are you ready? If he 00:32:46.809 --> 00:32:52.170 came today, would you be ready? You know, there 00:32:52.170 --> 00:32:55.369 was a time, I remember this growing up. There's 00:32:55.369 --> 00:32:58.529 a time that, man, growing up in a Christian household, 00:32:58.670 --> 00:33:00.869 some of you, this may not sound familiar to you 00:33:00.869 --> 00:33:03.289 because maybe you didn't grow up in a Christian 00:33:03.289 --> 00:33:05.809 home where this was taught. But there was a time 00:33:05.809 --> 00:33:07.930 then where I grew up, I'd come home. This was 00:33:07.930 --> 00:33:09.569 before the invention of, you know, cell phones. 00:33:09.849 --> 00:33:12.109 And I think they may have had pagers, but, you 00:33:12.109 --> 00:33:13.750 know, people took like three hours to respond 00:33:13.750 --> 00:33:17.029 to those things, you know. And you'd come home 00:33:17.029 --> 00:33:21.069 and nobody would be there. And then you'd call. 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:24.200 Mom, did you call Grandpa? Grandpa didn't answer. 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:27.059 Did you call everybody? Did you call the pastor? 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:31.400 Nobody asked. I'm telling you, it's like you 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:39.319 would think, did Jesus come? For a split second, 00:33:39.420 --> 00:33:42.140 it hits your mind. Like, wait a minute. Did it 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:47.180 happen and I'm still here? That's the kind of 00:33:47.180 --> 00:33:52.670 fear that we lived with. It could happen at any 00:33:52.670 --> 00:33:54.930 moment. You've got to be ready. Somebody say, 00:33:54.970 --> 00:33:57.750 you've got to be ready. Oh, but let me tell you 00:33:57.750 --> 00:34:00.410 about when he comes. Let me tell you about when 00:34:00.410 --> 00:34:03.009 he comes. The Bible says this in Thessalonians. 00:34:03.009 --> 00:34:06.049 In chapter 4, Paul writes these words to encourage 00:34:06.049 --> 00:34:08.670 the Thessalonians so that they might comfort 00:34:08.670 --> 00:34:10.929 one another through their trials and tribulations. 00:34:11.130 --> 00:34:15.340 He said, for the Lord. himself will descend from 00:34:15.340 --> 00:34:19.440 heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:23.119 and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:28.039 will rise first hallelujah would you stand with 00:34:28.039 --> 00:34:32.380 me this afternoon oh hallelujah then we who are 00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:35.460 alive and remain shall be caught up together 00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:42.590 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord We shall 00:34:42.590 --> 00:34:46.929 always be with the Lord. Come on. Why don't we 00:34:46.929 --> 00:34:49.269 give God about 30 seconds of praise right there? 00:34:49.670 --> 00:34:58.050 Come on. Thank you, Jesus. He's coming. He's 00:34:58.050 --> 00:35:00.250 coming. The dead in Christ are going to rise 00:35:00.250 --> 00:35:02.420 first. Those who are dead in the Lord are going 00:35:02.420 --> 00:35:05.039 to rise first. Hallelujah. And there have been 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:07.539 some that have already gone on to be with Jesus. 00:35:07.900 --> 00:35:09.920 And I feel like we've been in a season where 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:12.639 there's been quite a few. Sometimes I feel like 00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:14.980 heaven's bus just comes by, you know, and picks 00:35:14.980 --> 00:35:17.079 up a number of people. Okay, it's time to go 00:35:17.079 --> 00:35:19.679 home. And some of we have said goodbye to some 00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:22.420 people recently that have died in the Lord. Well, 00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:25.170 guess what? They're ahead of the pack. Hallelujah. 00:35:25.269 --> 00:35:27.809 When Jesus comes, they're going to be in front 00:35:27.809 --> 00:35:31.250 of us. They got their first in line. Hallelujah. 00:35:31.789 --> 00:35:35.590 Praise God. But those of us, hallelujah, that 00:35:35.590 --> 00:35:38.750 are alive and remain, we're going to meet them 00:35:38.750 --> 00:35:42.429 in the air. And when Jesus comes, he's not sending 00:35:42.429 --> 00:35:44.929 an angel. Next slide. Hallelujah. He's coming 00:35:44.929 --> 00:35:49.550 himself. Oh, my Lord. Jesus himself is going 00:35:49.550 --> 00:35:53.690 to descend in the clouds. Woo! My Lord. He's 00:35:53.690 --> 00:35:58.489 coming back for us. Oh, and when he comes, he's 00:35:58.489 --> 00:36:02.010 not just going to descend in a very soft cloud, 00:36:02.309 --> 00:36:06.170 you know, with singing angels and violins and 00:36:06.170 --> 00:36:08.829 harps and that sort of thing. When he comes, 00:36:09.070 --> 00:36:13.289 there's going to be a shout. There's going to 00:36:13.289 --> 00:36:16.690 be a voice. And there's going to be a trumpet. 00:36:17.050 --> 00:36:25.019 Hallelujah. Oh. what the shout of God is going 00:36:25.019 --> 00:36:35.500 to sound like on that day. Oh, my God. The shout 00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:39.659 is the shout of Jesus. How many of you can you, 00:36:39.900 --> 00:36:44.340 my brother, can you imagine what the shout of 00:36:44.340 --> 00:36:47.739 the Lord Jesus Christ will sound like? It's going 00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:51.019 to sound like the lion from the tribe of Judah. 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:58.090 It's going to be. It's going to break the cedars 00:36:58.090 --> 00:37:04.750 of Lebanon. It's going to... Oh, my God. What 00:37:04.750 --> 00:37:10.630 a shout. There's going to be a voice. The archangel, 00:37:10.690 --> 00:37:13.849 most likely Michael, is going to shout with a 00:37:13.849 --> 00:37:16.510 loud voice announcing the coming of the king. 00:37:16.730 --> 00:37:31.010 Here comes the herald, the king of... Let the 00:37:31.010 --> 00:37:32.630 praise team, if they could come and prepare themselves. 00:37:32.849 --> 00:37:35.210 There's going to be a trumpet that's going to 00:37:35.210 --> 00:37:40.150 sound. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. The 00:37:40.150 --> 00:37:43.690 trumpet is a powerful symbol of what God is doing 00:37:43.690 --> 00:37:47.389 when he comes back. Trumpets in the Bible, church, 00:37:47.510 --> 00:37:51.159 they represent, they represent. They represent 00:37:51.159 --> 00:37:55.380 praise. And they were used in battle. But trumpets 00:37:55.380 --> 00:38:00.340 were also used to gather the people of God. When 00:38:00.340 --> 00:38:02.320 they blew the trumpet in the book of Isaiah. 00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:06.420 All the people of God gathered together in one 00:38:06.420 --> 00:38:09.980 place. And when Jesus comes back for his church. 00:38:10.139 --> 00:38:13.280 There's going to be a trumpet. The Bible says 00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:17.000 the last trumpet is going to sound. And when 00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:25.679 that trumpet sounds. We shall be changed in a 00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:29.539 moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last 00:38:29.539 --> 00:38:31.500 trumpet. And we're going to meet the Lord in 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.340 the end. my question today. I feel the Holy Ghost 00:38:34.340 --> 00:38:35.920 right now. Some of you want to begin to worship, 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:39.619 go ahead. Don't stop. If you want to, God is 00:38:39.619 --> 00:38:41.840 working in this place. The praise team is going 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:45.039 to sing in just a moment. There's a song, hallelujah, 00:38:45.139 --> 00:38:48.599 that God has put in this moment for us. But I 00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:51.699 want you to understand that I preach this today 00:38:51.699 --> 00:38:56.039 not simply to warn you. I preach it to comfort 00:38:56.039 --> 00:39:00.059 you. I preach to tell you that life is hard. 00:39:00.750 --> 00:39:04.969 Life is difficult. There is pain. There are problems. 00:39:05.309 --> 00:39:09.349 There's disease and famine and violence and war. 00:39:09.690 --> 00:39:12.869 There's all kinds of things that can affect us 00:39:12.869 --> 00:39:16.349 in this world. And so I come today with a word 00:39:16.349 --> 00:39:19.230 of encouragement. If you're not living right, 00:39:19.329 --> 00:39:22.329 get right with God today. Oh, make sure your 00:39:22.329 --> 00:39:26.070 heart is rapture ready. And if you need comfort, 00:39:26.170 --> 00:39:29.389 I've come to comfort you today and tell you this. 00:39:30.400 --> 00:39:33.639 to pray like the prayer prayed in revelation 00:39:33.639 --> 00:39:35.420 and say come